Tag Archives: Cooking

Thai pork mince lettuce wraps

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As you may have seen from some of my previous recipes  I love Thai food.

This is a super easy dish to make and you’ll be surprised by just how much flavour it packs with just a few, simple ingredients.

Make this as a quick tea when you get in from work or during Sunday night meal prep to have for lunch or dinner for the rest of the week.

You can also use turkey or beef mince but these flavours work really well with pork. What’s more, it is low carb but you can also add brown rice to the lettuce wraps before adding the mince to get some healthy carbs in there if you want to.

You will need:
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp fish sauce
Juice of two limes
1 red chilli, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
500g lean pork mince
1 orange pepper, chopped
1 tsp coconut oil
Handful of coriander, chopped
1 large Chinese lettuce

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Method:
– Start by heating the coconut oil in a large frying pan before adding the garlic and the pork mince. Cook thoroughly until the pork mince is almost done and then add the chopped chilli, fish sauce and the chopped pepper.
– Cook on a high heat until the mince is thoroughly cooked then add the fresh lime juice and stir in some fresh coriander.
– To prepare the lettuce leaves simply peel them away and chop off the end before arranging artistically (we tried!) on a plate. If you’re having rice with your wraps then add that in to the lettuce leaf before adding the mince.
– Wrap up the leaves as you eat them (I’d suggest with your hands!) and there you have it, Thai pork mince lettuce wraps.

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Serve them with a sprig of fresh coriander on top and a wedge of lime on the side. I guarantee these will go down a treat any night of the week and it is a perfect meal to make in bulk to keep you going for the rest of the week.

Mission complete : homemade energy bites

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With nothing but a weekend of eating and running ahead it was time to rustle up a new recipe.

I gave them the name Mission Balls due to the absolute mission my friend and I had making them – there was a lot of smoke coming from a borrowed blender at some point! Yet despite that slight mishap, these energy bites turned out well are are a great pre or post workout snack.

I am a snack monster and I am constantly on the lookout for new, healthy snacks that I can grab as I’m leaving the house and take to work ready to eat before training later that day or just to nibble on during the afternoon slump.

These bites fit that bill perfectly and are a much more economically friendly version than buying a bar every day or even a multi-pack box of cereal, energy or protein bars.

They are also ridiculously easy and quick to make and don’t take up much room in the fridge either. Another great thing about them is that you can customise them depending on what fruit/nuts you fancy.

You will need: (makes about 14 energy bites depending on how big you make them)

125g dried apricots
100g raisins
100g cashew nuts
125g dates
25g raw cacao powder
4 heaped tablespoons of honey
3 heaped tablespoons of Meridian smooth peanut butter


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Method:
I found the best way to make these energy bites is to put the mixture into the blender a little bit at a time.
So basically – and this shows just how simple they are to make – put a portion of all of the ingredients into the blender and whizz around until they are well combined.
If the mixture is looking a little dry add more honey or peanut butter.
Keep blending the mixture until it is all combined and then tip out of the blender and into a bowl or on to a plate.
Now you can get your hands involved and form the bites in to whatever shape you desire. I went for balls but bars work just as well. Form them in to the desired shape and then sprinkle them with a bit of cacao powder and pop into the fridge to set and voila, homemade energy bites.

 

Peanut & almond butter cups

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Staring at gooey peanut butter, threatening to spill over the top of a newly opened jar must be what true love feels like.

I love peanut butter and these no bake treats are perfect for combining that love with one of my other true loves, chocolate.
But these treats are sugar free and are made with completely natural ingredients.

I was kindly sent some Meridian Foods crunchy almond butter and smooth peanut butter to sample. Meridian Foods peanut butter has long been my favourite PB brand; not only because it tastes amazing but also because it has nothing added to it.
I hadn’t tried the almond butter before so this gave me the perfect chance to experiment  and I couldn’t wait.

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Recipe makes 8-10 cups
You will need:
75g Meridian crunchy almond butter
75g Meridian smooth peanut butter
1 heaped tablespoon of honey
50g shredded coconut
25g sultanas

For the chocolate:
75g coconut oil
75g cacao powder
2 tablespoons honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Mix the almond butter, peanut butter, honey, coconut and sultanas until well combined.
Put a tablespoon full of the mixture in to cake cases before flattening down with the reverse side of the spoon to create an even finish.
Set these aside whilst you make the chocolate. To make the chocolate, melt the coconut oil in the microwave and then add the cacao powder, honey and vanilla extract and mix well.
Top the peanut and almond butter mixture with the melted chocolate and then pop in to the freezer for about 20 minutes until they are set.
Once they are set, they should be kept in the freezer to keep firm.  And there you have it, a simple and super quick way to rustle up some treats.

You can use just almond butter if you’d prefer or just peanut butter rather than combining them both and you can change the dried fruit depending on what you feel like. The almond butter was so tasty and the slightly nutty texture meant that these bites had a bit of a crunch to them as well – perfect!

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Guilt free banana, blueberry & peanut butter bread

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I can promise you that the title is not a trick; this really is a guilt free treat.

Thanks to the ‘caveman’ paleo plan there is such a thing as sin free cake. The paleo plan focuses on eating what our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have eaten, steering clear of processed foods. This twist on a classic banana bread is full of completely healthy and wholesome ingredients and provides a healthy sweet treat for breakfast, dessert or an afternoon snack.

I’ll admit that the peanut butter isn’t paelo but I couldn’t resist; the slightly salty & crunchy texture against the sweet moist bread proves an ideal combination.

The recipe is adapted from a pumpkin bread recipe on www.paleoplan.com, which is a great site if you’re a follower of the paleo plan, or even if you want to try new recipes using some alternative ingredients. If you fancy knocking this up from what you’ve got in your cupboard though, simply switch the flour used here for regular plain flour. One of the great things about banana bread is that you can add whatever you want, so if not blueberries why not try walnuts and dates or pumpkin seeds and cranberries.

Ingredients:
– ½ cup almond flour
– 1 tbsp cinnamon
-1/4tsp ground ginger
– ½ tsp baking powder
– 2 heaped tbsp peanut butter (organic Meridian smooth is the BEST)
– 2 large eggs
– 3 ripe mashed bananas
– 3tbsp coconut oil
– 1tbsp vanilla extract (natural)
– 1 cup blueberries

Method:
– Preheat the oven to about 180 and line a baking tin with a little bit of the coconut oil.
– Mix the cinnamon, ginger and baking powder in to a bowl. In a separate bowl add the peanut butter, eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla, mashed bananas, blueberries and flour until well combined.
– Add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and mix well.
– Pour the mixture in to the lined tin and bake for about 40-50 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing. Topping with more peanut butter afterwards is optional but highly recommended.

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Trying out tapas in York

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So as you’ve probably guessed from reading this blog, I love running and eating. If I’m not running or eating you can guarantee that I’m thinking about it.

Living in York I am lucky enough to be spoilt with an abundance of nice restaurants to choose from which makes choosing a new weekend haunt possibly one of the best problems to have.

On Friday night my friend and I were torn between either Thai or tapas for dinner. After several pre drinner drinks tapas came out triumphant and we headed to Ambiente Tapas on Goodramgate. We hadn’t booked and the waitress told us that there might be a table for us in the bar area if we came back in about half an hour.

Even though our bellies were rumbling the food smelled so delicious and the decor was warm and inviting that we decided to head for another drink before going back later. Luckily when we returned there was a table free for us in the window and we were seated at a long wooden bench. It didn’t offer a roomy space like a table in the restaurant but it was big enough and added to the whole dining experience.

After drooling over the menu we decided on bread and oils to start and almond stuffed dates wrapped in Parma ham. I’m a huge fan of dates but I’ve never had them wrapped in ham so decided to try them on the recommendation of my friend. He wasn’t wrong, they were incredible and the almond in the middle made for a nice surprise.

For our main we chose six dishes:

The Calamares fritos – calamares rings deep fried in Estrella beer batter with aioli
Chorizo y patatas – caramelised chorizo and roast potatoes
Gambas con crema de manchego – Grilled prawns with a spiced Manchego Mojo sauce
Alboronia – A warm spicy salad of quince, pumpkin and aubergine
Queso de cabra y hinojo – Soft, mild goats cheese lightly battered and drizzled with honey, served with braised fennel and beetroot crisps.
The classic patatas bravas

 

Our six main dishes at Ambiente Tapas, York.

All of the dishes were packed full of flavour and even the classic patatas bravas contained more flavour and taste than expected.
My favourite was the goat cheese which melted in the mouth and the honey added a surprisingly pleasant sweet taste to it. It was unlike anything I’d ever tasted before. The calamares was also the best I had ever tasted and the restaurants own beer batter really gave it the edge. My friend fell in love with the chorizo dish, so simple yet exceptionally cooked.

All in all our bill came to just under £50, with wine and beer as well which I think was reasonable considering the amount we had eaten. We couldn’t resist eyeing up the dessert menu which offered some tasty treats but it would’ve been a case of eyes bigger than the belly if we had said yes.

The atmosphere in the bar was great too and had a real buzz about it. When I ventured to the toilets, which are through the restaurant, I was surprised to find that I was actually pleased to have been seated at the bar. The atmosphere in the restaurant seemed a little quieter than the bar area and somehow you didn’t quite get the buzz on offer in the bar. All in all a great evening and I will definitely be heading back to Ambiente next time I fancy tapas.

Peanut butter, fruit & nut balls

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I confess – I’m not the most organised person in the world, but when it comes to meals I plan them down to the last mouthful. Sunday evening consists of planning the following weeks meals, factoring in training sessions and of course starting that all important meal prep.

Main meals are usually the easiest to plan and with Sunday night meal prep, lunches are easy as well. I find that snacks are my downfall though. Once the afternoon slump hits I’m ready for a boost and I’ve been looking for a way to switch up my snack options.

This is when I decided to get creative. For those who don’t know me, I love peanut butter – on apples, in cookies and more often than not I am guilty of eating it straight out of the tub.
Instead of grabbing a couple of spoonfuls pre-gym, I thought why not incorporate my love of it in with my afternoon snack to give myself a healthy protein hit to keep me going all afternoon.
With that in mind, I created these peanut butter fruit and nut balls.

You will need:
– 1 cup sugar free coconut shavings
– 1 cup flaked almonds
– 2/3 cup sultanas
– ½ cup chopped dried apricots (or any other dried fruit you fancy, I just happened to have apricots)
-Sprinkling of cinnamon
-couple of heaped tablespoons of smooth peanut butter (organic preferably, I love Meridian smooth!) – You can also use chunky if you want a different texture although I found that smooth enables it to set better.

What to do:

-Combine the coconut, almonds, sultanas and apricots into a bowl and blend with a hand blender – this isn’t the easiest of tasks but it doesn’t take long and it helps the mixture to combine.
– Add the cinnamon and then start to add in the peanut butter a spoonful at a time. Add enough so that the mixture is sticking together but not too much that there is more peanut butter than mixture!
– Tip the mixture on to some Clingfilm and flatten out before putting in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
– Once set,  mould the mixture in to balls, sprinkle with an extra bit of coconut if desired and keep in the fridge.

And there you have it – a healthy, high protein and tasty snack for the rest of the week! Now there’s no excuse for me to eat peanut butter straight from the tub – well, at least for the next week anyway.

Peanut butter, fruit and nut balls - my latest creation!

Peanut butter, fruit and nut balls – my latest creation!

Healthy peanut butter cookies

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Yes, you did read that title correctly – these flourless peanut butter and choc chip cookies really are a guilt free treat.

These cookies are soft, gooey and packed full of energy – not to mention so tasty they may well become your new go-to treat.

I am a massive peanut butter addict and I’ve wanted to try cooking some guilt free treats with smooth peanut butter for ages and this seemed like the perfect recipe.

Not only that, but these cookies are gluten free as well.

You will need:
-8oz smooth organic peanut butter (preferably organic)
-3oz of organic natural honey (you can add more or less depending on how much of a sweet tooth you have)
-1 egg (flax egg if you like)
-1/2tsp baking powder
-pinch salt
-dairy free choc chips

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To make:
These really are so easy to make which is yet another reason to love them.
-Mix the peanut butter, honey, baking powder and egg in a bowl.
-Stir in the choc chips then put cookie sized dollops on to a baking tray lined with grease proof paper.

Place in the oven at gas mark 4 for about 12 mins/until the cookies start to turn brown.

The cookies may still look gooey but as soon as they start to brown take them out and leave them to cool. They will firm up but still retain that amazing soft gooey texture inside.

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Experimenting with vegan

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Since Beyoncé published pictures of her and her hubby Jay Z’s 22 day vegan challenge just before Christmas veganism has seen a rise in popularity. 

Apparently she enjoyed it so much that she has started it again. It would appear she isn’t alone either, with more and more people wanting to try either going vegan or vegetarian for a couple of days a week.

Campaigns such as Meat Free Monday have taken off after research showed that having a vegetarian diet at least one day a week comes with health benefits.

Eager to feel these health benefits after a pretty extravagant weekend in London (which put significant stress on my back balance as well!) I decided to try out some vegan recipes.

I could never be vegetarian – I love meat too much – so for me it wasn’t an ethical change, it was purely to see if the health benefits the expert’s claim you feel are true.

It was a lot easier to avoid meat than I thought, especially at tea time. Dinner time was when I struggled though as I usually have salads so at first it was quite tricky to give up my favourite salmon salads and Nando’s chicken. But I stocked up on tofu and made a really tasty broad bean, bean sprout, cucumber and spring onion salad which was very tasty.

After a week I did start to feel the benefits which I was surprised at. I felt full of energy and generally less sluggish on a morning which was great and I found that I hadn’t really missed red meat all that much. Plus, I saved money from not buying chicken as well which was an added bonus.

Here are two examples of vegan dishes I made for tea:

The first is Mediterranean veg and bean mash.
I used:
– aubergine
– courgette
– pepper
– mushrooms
– artichoke
– haricot beans
– vegetable stock
– garlic

Whilst the vegetables are roasting, boil a tin of haricot beans in some vegetable stock with the garlic and simmer for about 10 minutes. When it starts to thicken, take the beans off the heat and mash until you’ve got a consistency you like and voila – a simple, really tasty and surprisingly filling tea.

Vegan Mediterranean veg and bean mash

Vegan Mediterranean veg and bean mash

The second was my favourite of the week – apricot and orange baked quinoa with roasted vegetables.

See above for the roasted veggies recipe, but you can add whatever you want to roast and whatever flavouring you fancy.
I’m a big fan of quinoa (or keen-wa as my flatmate recently told me it was pronounced) but I had never baked it before.
Add the quinoa to a casserole dish with the juice of one orange, fresh apricots and vegetable stock. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, stirring once in between.

Baked quinoa with apricot and roasted veg

Baked quinoa with apricot and roasted veg

And there you have it – two really simple, tasty and healthy meals made in less than 30 minutes.
I liked the results and the new tasty dishes I had tried so much that I’m trying out more this week. I’ll post my new recipes as the week goes on.

If you’ve got any vegan/vegetarian recipes you think I should try let me know.

Homemade hummus

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You’ll never need to buy hummus again with this recipe. It’s so easy and so quick to make and just as tasty.

What you will need:
– one 200g can of chickpeas in water (drained) – keep a couple back for decoration
– 2 tbsp lemon juice
– 1 garlic clove
-1 tsp cumin
-100ml tahini (optional)
-4tbsp water
-2tbsp olive oil (or sesame oil if you don’t have tahini)
-1 tsp paprika

How to make it:

-Put the chickpeas, lemon juice, cumin, tahini (if you have it), garlic and water in to a food processor and blend until smooth – or if you’re a fan of chunky hummus just blend until your desired texture.
-Smooth out with a back of a spoon and drizzle with oil and finish by decorating with the remaining chickpeas and a sprinkle of paprika.

Done!

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Spicy black bean soup

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I’ve been waiting all week to try  this spicy black bean soup I found on the meat free Monday website.

It didn’t disappoint that’s for sure.

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I did slightly adapt the recipe on the website though, substituting some ingredients which I didn’t have for others.

Here is what I used for my slightly adapted version of the recipe:
– dash of olive oil
– 1 red onion, chopped
– 2 cloves garlic, chopped
– 1 tablespoon cumin
– 1 teaspoon oregano
– black pepper to season
– 1 tin chopped toms
– 300g black beans
– 2 veg stock cubes
– 1 green chilli, finely chopped

What I did:
– Start by heating the oil and adding the onions, garlic and cumin until soft.
– Once softened add the rest of the ingredients and simmer gradually for 30mins.
– Depending on whether you like a smooth or chunky soup, use a hand blender to finish off the soup and voila, it’s done!

I topped mine with some rocket but the recipe on the website has loads of tasty suggestions.

The only down side was that the beans needed to be soaked in water for eight to 12 hours before you could cook them – but in my opinion it was definitely worth it.

Happy meat free Monday! If you have any vegetarian recipes you think I should try comment below and I’ll give them a go.

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